Could Gen Z Free the World From Email?

The shortcomings of email have only been exacerbated by the pandemic because it has replaced too much: Decisions that were once made by stopping by a co-worker’s desk have been relegated to inbox ping-pong. Some people wrote about feeling a sense of guilt for not being able to reply faster or for adding emails to their colleagues’ inboxes. Others described how responding to a barrage of emails caused them to lose track of other tasks, creating a cycle that’s at best unproductive and at worse infuriating.

“I think a lot of people find it easier and more convenient to send a text than compose an email. It almost feels like there are other eyes looking, like, I have to be so professional in this setting and make sure everything is perfect,” he says, noting that there’s something less formal about using your fingers and thumbs on a phone keyboard, rather than a computer keyboard.

For some people, adding texting can complicate communication, introducing multiple ways to be expected to get in touch with someone. ... While she likes the work-home boundaries that email offers, she said what she finds most difficult is that there isn’t one standard form of communication. The main problem with email then is not necessarily that there is too much of it, but there is too much competition.

Why we hate using email but love sending texts

“Many people dread email because it is a conduit for unwanted advertising, a wide range of spam, and flat out attempts to scam or ‘phish’ us,” says Michael Stefanone, professor of communications at the University of Buffalo in New York. “It’s generally impersonal and work-related.”

A large reason email has earned its users ire is because it was based on the staid, rigid format of an office memo, complete with fields for “to,” “from,” “subject” and “body.”

This dreary, “business only” vibe that surrounds email is probably most acute among the post-millennial generation who have grown up without knowing a life without smartphones (not cell phones). The devices they use come equipped with instant messaging apps that have breathed new life into the text messaging phenomenon.

Students identify email as formal, and a way of communicating that recognises status and seniority

“Email is the preferable medium of communication in relationships where one person is more senior to the other, such as student and faculty, while text or social media channels are preferred when the relationship is more intimate,” she says.

Text messaging is, by its very nature, more personal.

With email, there’s “something actionable” about it, Lauricella says. This means some kind of labour is required, especially since it’s so often tied with work.

Email is also asynchronous – you can receive and respond to them at any time – which is what can cause them to pile up and feel so overwhelming. Responding to emails can quickly start to feel like a chore. That all disappears with the fast, personal, casual nature of texting.

What’s more, our text messaging and Facebook-liking culture has conditioned us to expect an immediate response. If we don’t get that instant gratification, anxiety can kick in. At least with texting, you can often see if the person is writing back. With an email, your words are out in the ether and no one can know what exactly is happening, she says.

Hate email? Getting rid of it wouldn't make you happy | Andre Spicer

A recent survey of US employees found that they spent 3.2 hours a day  dealing with work emails alone.

When people check their email, it takes them an average of 64 seconds to switch their attention back to their original task. Workers in the study were distracted this way an average of 96 times a day. This means they spent more than 100 minutes every day being distracted by emails.

After checking their emails, people would do on average 2.3 other tasks before getting back to the activity they were originally working on.

The days people felt good about their work were those when they had an uninterrupted block of time to make progress on a task that they saw as important. Unsurprisingly, the constant stream of emails is often the biggest interruption to this goal.

Some people hate emails, I love them and here is why | Symetri

It can take too long to get a response from someone, searching for emails/attachments is slow, you have too many to go through, or you simply prefer talking to people on the phone. Those having to now work from home due to the pandemic can no longer speak with colleagues face-to-face, so revert to email when they can’t reach them via the phone.